Sacramento Army Depot

Federal and state officials are planning a multimillion-dollar cleanup of contaminated ground water at the Sacramento Army Depot, to begin next year. Base spokesman Mark DeFrances said the 300-page cleanup plan seeks to eliminate high concentrations of toxic chemicals found in base ground water since 1981.

An Army depot in California shipped plutonium by air via Federal Express in violation of federal rules, the Energy Department says. Less than a pound of the highly radioactive element used in nuclear weapons arrived Nov. 7 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for disposal, the department said. The Army confirmed Wednesday that it had shipped the plutonium by air Nov. 4 "because of a human error in marking the shipping instructions for the carrier."

An Army depot in California shipped plutonium by air via Federal Express in violation of federal rules, the Energy Department says. Less than a pound of the highly radioactive element used in nuclear weapons arrived Nov. 7 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for disposal, the department said. The Army confirmed Wednesday that it had shipped the plutonium by air Nov. 4 "because of a human error in marking the shipping instructions for the carrier."

Packard Bell is on the verge of sewing up a deal to relocate to Sacramento that seems almost too good to be true: Above and beyond a $5-million tax break granted by the Legislature, the computer manufacturer is about to be offered a $26-million loan by the city. City officials say they've never before handed a pot this sweet to a company--especially a marketing operation with little in the way of heavy capital assets to pledge as collateral--but they believe this case warrants the risk.

Packard Bell is on the verge of sewing up a deal to relocate to Sacramento that seems almost too good to be true: Above and beyond a $5-million tax break granted by the Legislature, the computer manufacturer is about to be offered a $26-million loan by the city. City officials say they've never before handed a pot this sweet to a company--especially a marketing operation with little in the way of heavy capital assets to pledge as collateral--but they believe this case warrants the risk.

Millie Aure, tending the counter of the pizza parlor she bought last June, tried to envision what business would be like if the Alameda Naval Air Station, located 100 yards away, closed. "Oh, my goodness, it's going to be dead," she said Monday as a sailor and two sons of sailors ate in her small restaurant. Aure, who runs the establishment with relatives, said she never would have made the investment if she had known the air station might close.

Packard Bell Confirms Move to Sacramento: Packard Bell Electronics for the first time confirmed publicly that it will move from Westlake Village to the Sacramento Army Depot, barring any last-minute complications. The announcement came after the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday night, as expected, approved a generous $26-million loan package for the computer maker. The move is one more in a series of blows to the San Fernando Valley's job base.

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred and Security Pacific National Bank were among 19 individuals, groups, organizations and corporations honored Monday by President Reagan for their volunteer work. Allred won a Presidential Volunteer Action Award for her part in setting up Project Amnesty, last year's pilot project in several California counties that allowed fathers to make good on delinquent child-support payments.

President Bush on Wednesday approved the recommendations of an independent commission to close 34 military installations across the country, including seven major sites in California, and forwarded the paperwork to Congress. Signing a letter of transmittal, Bush praised the panel and said he had decided on "a total acceptance" of the work that its members completed 10 days ago. "Any time you close a base someplace, you're going to have people in that district or that state raise Cain about it.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney today proposed closing or realigning about 60 military bases in the United States and 12 installations overseas as part of a cost-saving effort. "These proposed actions are part of an ongoing effort to streamline Defense Department operations in keeping with changing requirements and future budget realities," Cheney told Capitol Hill lawmakers in a letter that accompanied his list. Ten of the bases recommended for closure are in California, including Ft.

Millie Aure, tending the counter of the pizza parlor she bought last June, tried to envision what business would be like if the Alameda Naval Air Station, located 100 yards away, closed. "Oh, my goodness, it's going to be dead," she said Monday as a sailor and two sons of sailors ate in her small restaurant. Aure, who runs the establishment with relatives, said she never would have made the investment if she had known the air station might close.

Federal and state officials are planning a multimillion-dollar cleanup of contaminated ground water at the Sacramento Army Depot, to begin next year. Base spokesman Mark DeFrances said the 300-page cleanup plan seeks to eliminate high concentrations of toxic chemicals found in base ground water since 1981.

For years, most military bases disposed of solvents, dead batteries, used motor oil and most any other kind of waste by dumping it in an out-of-the-way corner. Now, many of the 43 bases that Defense Secretary Dick Cheney wants to shut down are so poisoned by old wastes that converting them to civilian use is likely to take a lot of time and money. Just how lengthy and how costly the cleanup projects might be is anybody's guess. Estimates range to decades and billions of dollars.

With 14 toxic waste dumps considered serious threats to public health, California leads a list of 99 additional Superfund priority cleanup sites released Tuesday. But final cleanup of the state's new Superfund sites--plus 34 already on the list--could be a decade or more away, officials said. The Environmental Protection Agency has cleanup work under way at about half of the 800-plus sites currently on the Superfund list, including 17 in California. But despite $1.